The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
Encyclopedia
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis is an American sitcom that aired on CBS
from 1959 to 1963. The series and some episode scripts were adapted from a 1951
collection of short stories
of the same name, written by Max Shulman
, that also inspired the 1953 film The Affairs of Dobie Gillis
with Debbie Reynolds
, Bob Fosse
, and Bobby Van as Dobie Gillis. A follow-up novel, I Was a Teen-Age Dwarf, appeared in 1959.
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis was produced by Martin Manulis Productions
in association with 20th Century Fox
Television; creator Shulman also wrote the theme song in collaboration with Lionel Newman
.
), who aspired to have popularity, money, and the attention of beautiful and unattainable girls. He didn't have any of these qualities in abundance, and the tiny crises surrounding Dobie's lack of success made the story in each weekly episode. His partner-in-crime was American television's first beatnik
, Maynard G. Krebs
(Bob Denver
).
Krebs had a deep aversion to work; Maynard was convinced life is for enjoying. Dobie's father, Herbert T. Gillis (Frank Faylen
), who owned a grocery store
, was only happy when Dobie was behind a broom. Dobie's father was often caught up in various elaborate get-rich-quick schemes, or situational bail-outs à la Ralph Kramden
, with Dobie getting ensnared along with him; by the end both came around grudgingly to Maynard's point of view.
As a high school
student, Dobie lived at home with his parents in the show's early years, and his interaction with his parents was a source of much of the humor. His mother Winnie (Florida Friebus
) was very caring and perhaps tended to baby her son a little too much; his father Herbert was a very proud, hard-working child of the Great Depression
and veteran of World War II
, who was often heard to declare "I've gotta kill that boy, I've just gotta!" but deep down a good and decent man.
Dobie's two main antagonist
s were rich kids, Milton Armitage (Warren Beatty
) and, after his departure, Milton's cousin
, Chatsworth Osborne, Jr.
(Steven Franken
), both representing the wealth and popularity to which Dobie aspired. They both shared the same actress, Doris Packer
, as their mother.
Dobie was hopelessly attracted to the money-hungry blonde Thalia Menninger (Tuesday Weld
), who frequently entangled Dobie in her money-making schemes. Weld soon left the series but was replaced by a seemingly endless stream of young women equally hard for Dobie to obtain. Most, however, were not as money-obsessed as Thalia. Thalia's catchphrase was that the money was not for her but for her family; she would talk about ailments her family had that only money could cure. Thalia claimed her looks were all her family had to lift them out of their bad situation in life.
Zelda Gilroy
(Sheila James Kuehl
) was a brilliant and eager young girl who was hopelessly in love with Dobie, much to his annoyance. Despite his protests, Dobie was clearly fond of Zelda and would be married to her in the proposed 1977 series pilot, Whatever Happened to Dobie Gillis? Zelda claimed Dobie loved her too but just hadn't realized it yet. To prove this she'd wiggle her nose (like a rabbit) at Dobie who would do the same back to Zelda, though Dobie said it was only a reflex and not love that made him do that.
During the second season, Dobie and Maynard (along with Chatsworth) did a brief stint in the U.S. Army
. The peacetime draft
was in effect at the time, and the Vietnam War
was as yet only a minor concern to most Americans
when the series ended.
Beginning with the third season, Dobie moved from high school to S. Peter Pryor Junior College
, surrounded by many of the same people. William Schallert
played Leander Pomfritt, the English teacher at both the high school and the junior college; and the late Jean Byron
(with whom Schallert would later co-star on The Patty Duke Show
) played mathematics
teachers Ruth Adams and Professor Imogene Burkhart (which was actually Jean Byron's real name).
, as Bob Cumming's nephew, Chuck, he was asked to dye his hair blond for the role of Dobie in order to distance himself from that character in the public's mind. By the following year, however, Hickman was permitted to return to his natural brunette hair color.
During the first season, many of the episodes would begin and end with Dobie sitting on a Central City park bench posed à la Auguste Rodin
's statue, "The Thinker
", a reproduction of which stood behind him. Speaking directly to the audience, he would explain to the viewing audience his problem of the week (usually girls or money). The use of the statue was phased out in later episodes.
After filming the third episode, Bob Denver announced that he had received his draft notice
and the character of Maynard was given an elaborate sendoff (he enlisted in the Army) in the show's next episode, Maynard's Farewell to the Troops. Stage actor Michael J. Pollard
was brought out from New York to play Maynard's cousin, Jerome Krebs. Before Pollard had completed his first episode, however, Denver returned and announced that he had been designated 4F (unfit for service) because of a neck injury he had sustained some years earlier. Pollard appeared in only one more episode before being bought out of his contract. Pollard later appeared with his fellow Dobie Gillis co-star Warren Beatty
in Bonnie and Clyde
, and also appeared in other films, such as The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming
and Dirty Mary Crazy Larry.
The actresses that played Dobie's love interests include Cheryl Holdridge
, Michele Lee
, Susan Watson
, Marlo Thomas
, Sally Kellerman
, Ellen Burstyn
(billed as Ellen McRae), Barbara Babcock
, Sherry Jackson
, Diana Millay and Barbara Bain
. Yvonne Craig
appeared in the opening credits and the closing sequence of the pilot film used to sell the series to CBS, but did not appear in the actual episode, "Caper at The Bijou", when it was broadcast. She would eventually play five different girl friends on the show, more than any other actress.
, with lyrics by Max Shulman
. The theme was sung by Judd Conlon
's Rhythmaires, with music conducted by Lionel Newman.
attempted to make a recording star out of Dwayne Hickman
, ignoring the fact that he couldn't sing. According to Hickman's autobiography, Forever Dobie: The Many Lives of Dwayne Hickman, the recording engineers had to piece together numerous takes to get a usable track of each song. Hickman introduced several of the songs from the Dobie! album on the show, including "I'm a Lover, Not a Fighter" and "Don't Send a Rabbit."
Earlier, while Hickman was appearing on Love That Bob, he had recorded a single, "School Dance," for ABC-Paramount Records, but both the single and the later Capitol album sold very few copies.
DC Comics
published a Many Loves of Dobie Gillis comic that ran for twenty-six issues in the early 1960s, featuring work by Bob Oksner
. Stories from this comic would later be revamped as Windy and Willy.
Whatever Happened to Dobie Gillis (1978) and TV movie Bring Me the Head of Dobie Gillis (1988). In these, Dobie had married Zelda and had a son named Georgie, who was like Dobie had been at his age. The latter of these took its title from the Sam Peckinpah
film, Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
, and its plot from the play The Visit
, by Friedrich Dürrenmatt
.
Scooby writer Mark Evanier
noted that "Fred was based on Dobie, Shaggy on Maynard, Velma on Zelda and Daphne on Thalia." http://halogen.note.amherst.edu/~bgjohnson/wwwfaq.html#trivia.scooby
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
from 1959 to 1963. The series and some episode scripts were adapted from a 1951
1951 in literature
The year 1951 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*E. E. Cummings and Rachel Carson are awarded Guggenheim Fellowships.*Flannery O'Connor is diagnosed with lupus....
collection of short stories
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
of the same name, written by Max Shulman
Max Shulman
Max Shulman was an American writer and humorist best known for his television and short story character Dobie Gillis, as well as for best-selling novels.-Early life and career:...
, that also inspired the 1953 film The Affairs of Dobie Gillis
The Affairs of Dobie Gillis
The Affairs of Dobie Gillis is a black and white 1953 comedy musical film. The film is based on the same writings by Max Shulman as the subsequent television series, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis...
with Debbie Reynolds
Debbie Reynolds
Debbie Reynolds is an American actress, singer, and dancer.She was initially signed at age 16 by Warner Bros., but her career got off to a slow start. When her contract was not renewed, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer gave her a small, but significant part in the film Three Little Words , then signed her to...
, Bob Fosse
Bob Fosse
Robert Louis “Bob” Fosse was an American actor, dancer, musical theater choreographer, director, screenwriter, film editor and film director. He won an unprecedented eight Tony Awards for choreography, as well as one for direction...
, and Bobby Van as Dobie Gillis. A follow-up novel, I Was a Teen-Age Dwarf, appeared in 1959.
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis was produced by Martin Manulis Productions
Martin Manulis
Martin Manulis was an American film, television and theater producer. Manulis was best known for creating the television program, Playhouse 90 on CBS.-Career:...
in association with 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
Television; creator Shulman also wrote the theme song in collaboration with Lionel Newman
Lionel Newman
Lionel Newman was an American conductor, pianist, and film and television composer. He was the brother of Alfred Newman and Emil Newman, uncle of Randy Newman, David Newman and Thomas Newman, and grandfather of Joey Newman....
.
Overview
The series revolved around teenager Dobie Gillis (Dwayne HickmanDwayne Hickman
Dwayne Bernard Hickman is a former American actor and television executive at CBS.He is known primarily for his "teenage" actor roles on television sitcoms. The naturally brown-headed Hickman is best known for playing Chuck MacDonald, Bob Collins's crazy teenaged nephew, on the popular 1950s...
), who aspired to have popularity, money, and the attention of beautiful and unattainable girls. He didn't have any of these qualities in abundance, and the tiny crises surrounding Dobie's lack of success made the story in each weekly episode. His partner-in-crime was American television's first beatnik
Beatnik
Beatnik was a media stereotype of the 1950s and early 1960s that displayed the more superficial aspects of the Beat Generation literary movement of the 1950s and violent film images, along with a cartoonish depiction of the real-life people and the spiritual quest in Jack Kerouac's autobiographical...
, Maynard G. Krebs
Maynard G. Krebs
Maynard G. Krebs was the "beatnik" sidekick of the title character in the U.S. television sitcom The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis....
(Bob Denver
Bob Denver
Robert Osbourne "Bob" Denver was an American comedic actor known for his roles as Gilligan on the television series Gilligan's Island and the beatnik Maynard G. Krebs on the 1959–1963 TV series The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.-Early life:Denver was born in New Rochelle, New York, and raised in...
).
Krebs had a deep aversion to work; Maynard was convinced life is for enjoying. Dobie's father, Herbert T. Gillis (Frank Faylen
Frank Faylen
Frank Faylen was an American movie and television actor.Born Frank Ruf in St. Louis, Missouri, he began his acting career as an infant appearing with his vaudeville performing parents on stage...
), who owned a grocery store
Grocery store
A grocery store is a store that retails food. A grocer, the owner of a grocery store, stocks different kinds of foods from assorted places and cultures, and sells these "groceries" to customers. Large grocery stores that stock products other than food, such as clothing or household items, are...
, was only happy when Dobie was behind a broom. Dobie's father was often caught up in various elaborate get-rich-quick schemes, or situational bail-outs à la Ralph Kramden
The Honeymooners
The Honeymooners is an American situation comedy television show, based on a recurring 1951–'55 sketch of the same name. It originally aired on the DuMont network's Cavalcade of Stars and subsequently on the CBS network's The Jackie Gleason Show hosted by Jackie Gleason, and filmed before a live...
, with Dobie getting ensnared along with him; by the end both came around grudgingly to Maynard's point of view.
As a high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
student, Dobie lived at home with his parents in the show's early years, and his interaction with his parents was a source of much of the humor. His mother Winnie (Florida Friebus
Florida Friebus
Florida Friebus was an American writer and actress of stage, film, and television. Friebus's best-known roles were Winifred "Winnie" Gillis and Mrs...
) was very caring and perhaps tended to baby her son a little too much; his father Herbert was a very proud, hard-working child of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
and veteran of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, who was often heard to declare "I've gotta kill that boy, I've just gotta!" but deep down a good and decent man.
Dobie's two main antagonist
Antagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
s were rich kids, Milton Armitage (Warren Beatty
Warren Beatty
Warren Beatty born March 30, 1937) is an American actor, producer, screenwriter and director. He has received a total of fourteen Academy Award nominations, winning one for Best Director in 1982. He has also won four Golden Globe Awards including the Cecil B. DeMille Award.-Early life and...
) and, after his departure, Milton's cousin
Cousin
In kinship terminology, a cousin is a relative with whom one shares one or more common ancestors. The term is rarely used when referring to a relative in one's immediate family where there is a more specific term . The term "blood relative" can be used synonymously and establishes the existence of...
, Chatsworth Osborne, Jr.
Chatsworth Osborne, Jr.
Chatsworth T. Osborne, Jr., is the millionaire dilettante in 35 of the 142 episodes of CBS's situation comedy series The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. The character, played by Steven Franken, was introduced midway through the first season and returned as a recurring character in the second, third,...
(Steven Franken
Steven Franken
Steven Franken, sometimes spelled Stephen Franken is an American actor who has appeared on screen and television for a half century. He is the cousin of Al Franken.-Career:...
), both representing the wealth and popularity to which Dobie aspired. They both shared the same actress, Doris Packer
Doris Packer
Doris Packer was an American actress, possibly best known as Mrs. Cornelia Rayburn, Theodore Cleaver's principal in Leave It to Beaver....
, as their mother.
Dobie was hopelessly attracted to the money-hungry blonde Thalia Menninger (Tuesday Weld
Tuesday Weld
Tuesday Weld is an American actress.Weld began her acting career as a child, and progressed to more mature roles during the late 1950s. She won a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Female Newcomer in 1960...
), who frequently entangled Dobie in her money-making schemes. Weld soon left the series but was replaced by a seemingly endless stream of young women equally hard for Dobie to obtain. Most, however, were not as money-obsessed as Thalia. Thalia's catchphrase was that the money was not for her but for her family; she would talk about ailments her family had that only money could cure. Thalia claimed her looks were all her family had to lift them out of their bad situation in life.
Zelda Gilroy
Zelda Gilroy
Zelda Gilroy, portrayed by the American actress Sheila James , was the love-struck teenager in CBS's The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis...
(Sheila James Kuehl
Sheila Kuehl
Sheila James Kuehl is an American politician, and a former child actress. She most recently served as a Democratic member of the California State Senate, representing the 23rd district in Los Angeles County and parts of southern Ventura County...
) was a brilliant and eager young girl who was hopelessly in love with Dobie, much to his annoyance. Despite his protests, Dobie was clearly fond of Zelda and would be married to her in the proposed 1977 series pilot, Whatever Happened to Dobie Gillis? Zelda claimed Dobie loved her too but just hadn't realized it yet. To prove this she'd wiggle her nose (like a rabbit) at Dobie who would do the same back to Zelda, though Dobie said it was only a reflex and not love that made him do that.
During the second season, Dobie and Maynard (along with Chatsworth) did a brief stint in the U.S. Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
. The peacetime draft
Conscription in the United States
Conscription in the United States has been employed several times, usually during war but also during the nominal peace of the Cold War...
was in effect at the time, and the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
was as yet only a minor concern to most Americans
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
when the series ended.
Beginning with the third season, Dobie moved from high school to S. Peter Pryor Junior College
Junior college
The term junior college refers to different educational institutions in different countries.-India:In India, most states provide schooling through 12th grade...
, surrounded by many of the same people. William Schallert
William Schallert
William Joseph Schallert is an American actor who has appeared in many films and in such television series as The Smurfs, The Rat Patrol, Gunsmoke, The Patty Duke Show, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, The Waltons, Bonanza, Leave It to Beaver, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Love, American Style, Get...
played Leander Pomfritt, the English teacher at both the high school and the junior college; and the late Jean Byron
Jean Byron
Jean Byron was an American film, television, and stage actress. She is best known for the role of Natalie Lane, Patty Lane's mother in The Patty Duke Show.-Early life and career:...
(with whom Schallert would later co-star on The Patty Duke Show
The Patty Duke Show
The Patty Duke Show is an American sitcom which ran on ABC from September 18, 1963, until May 4, 1966, with reruns airing through August 31, 1966. The show was created as a vehicle for rising star Patty Duke...
) played mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
teachers Ruth Adams and Professor Imogene Burkhart (which was actually Jean Byron's real name).
Cast
- Dwayne HickmanDwayne HickmanDwayne Bernard Hickman is a former American actor and television executive at CBS.He is known primarily for his "teenage" actor roles on television sitcoms. The naturally brown-headed Hickman is best known for playing Chuck MacDonald, Bob Collins's crazy teenaged nephew, on the popular 1950s...
as Dobie Gillis - Frank FaylenFrank FaylenFrank Faylen was an American movie and television actor.Born Frank Ruf in St. Louis, Missouri, he began his acting career as an infant appearing with his vaudeville performing parents on stage...
as Herbert T. Gillis - Florida FriebusFlorida FriebusFlorida Friebus was an American writer and actress of stage, film, and television. Friebus's best-known roles were Winifred "Winnie" Gillis and Mrs...
as Winnifred "Winnie" Gillis - Bob DenverBob DenverRobert Osbourne "Bob" Denver was an American comedic actor known for his roles as Gilligan on the television series Gilligan's Island and the beatnik Maynard G. Krebs on the 1959–1963 TV series The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.-Early life:Denver was born in New Rochelle, New York, and raised in...
as Maynard G. KrebsMaynard G. KrebsMaynard G. Krebs was the "beatnik" sidekick of the title character in the U.S. television sitcom The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.... - Tuesday WeldTuesday WeldTuesday Weld is an American actress.Weld began her acting career as a child, and progressed to more mature roles during the late 1950s. She won a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Female Newcomer in 1960...
as Thalia Menninger - Warren BeattyWarren BeattyWarren Beatty born March 30, 1937) is an American actor, producer, screenwriter and director. He has received a total of fourteen Academy Award nominations, winning one for Best Director in 1982. He has also won four Golden Globe Awards including the Cecil B. DeMille Award.-Early life and...
as Milton Armitage - Sheila James KuehlSheila KuehlSheila James Kuehl is an American politician, and a former child actress. She most recently served as a Democratic member of the California State Senate, representing the 23rd district in Los Angeles County and parts of southern Ventura County...
as Zelda GilroyZelda GilroyZelda Gilroy, portrayed by the American actress Sheila James , was the love-struck teenager in CBS's The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis... - Steven FrankenSteven FrankenSteven Franken, sometimes spelled Stephen Franken is an American actor who has appeared on screen and television for a half century. He is the cousin of Al Franken.-Career:...
as Chatsworth Osborne, Jr.Chatsworth Osborne, Jr.Chatsworth T. Osborne, Jr., is the millionaire dilettante in 35 of the 142 episodes of CBS's situation comedy series The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. The character, played by Steven Franken, was introduced midway through the first season and returned as a recurring character in the second, third,... - Doris PackerDoris PackerDoris Packer was an American actress, possibly best known as Mrs. Cornelia Rayburn, Theodore Cleaver's principal in Leave It to Beaver....
as Mrs. Armitage and Mrs. Chatsworth Osborne, Sr. - William SchallertWilliam SchallertWilliam Joseph Schallert is an American actor who has appeared in many films and in such television series as The Smurfs, The Rat Patrol, Gunsmoke, The Patty Duke Show, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, The Waltons, Bonanza, Leave It to Beaver, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Love, American Style, Get...
as Professor Leander Pomfritt - Joyce Van PattenJoyce Van PattenJoyce Benignia Van Patten is an American stage, film and television actress.-Personal life:Van Patten was born in New York City, the daughter of Josephine Rose , an Italian American magazine advertising executive, and Richard Byron Van Patten, a Dutch American interior decorator.She is the younger...
as Mrs. Pomfritt - Jean ByronJean ByronJean Byron was an American film, television, and stage actress. She is best known for the role of Natalie Lane, Patty Lane's mother in The Patty Duke Show.-Early life and career:...
as Dr. Imogene Burkhart and Mrs. Ruth Adams - Bobby DiamondBobby DiamondBobby Diamond, also known as Robert Leroy Diamond , is a California civil and criminal law attorney who was a child star and young-adult actor, mostly in the 1950s and 1960s...
as cousin Duncan "Dunky" Gillis - Darryl HickmanDarryl HickmanDarryl Gerard Hickman is an American film and television actor, former television executive, and child star of the 1930s and 1940s.-Early life:...
as brother Davey Gillis - Michael J. PollardMichael J. Pollard- Early life :Born Michael John Pollack, Jr. in Passaic, New Jersey, he is the son of Sonia and Michael John Pollack. He attended the Montclair Academy and the Actors Studio.- Career :...
as cousin Jerome Krebs - Marjorie BennettMarjorie BennettMarjorie Bennett was an Australian television and film actress who began her career during the silent film era.-Career:Bennett was born in York, Western Australia; her sister Enid was also an actress...
as Mrs. Kenny - Raymond BaileyRaymond BaileyRaymond Thomas Bailey was an American actor on the Broadway stage, movies, and television. He is best known for his role as wealthy banker, Milburn Drysdale, in the television series The Beverly Hillbillies....
as Dean Magruder - Clinton SundbergClinton SundbergClinton Sundberg was a stage and film character actor.Sundberg was born in Appleton, Minnesota on December 7, with sources differing on his year of birth...
as Trembley, the Armitage butler - Dabbs GreerDabbs GreerRobert William "Dabbs" Greer was an American actor who performed many diverse supporting roles in film and television for some fifty years. His distinctive, southern-accented voice fitted well in shows featuring rustic characters, such as westerns...
as Zelda's father - Willis BoucheyWillis BoucheyWillis Ben Bouchey was an American character actor who appeared in almost 150 films and television shows. He was born in Vernon, Michigan, but reared by his mother and stepfather in Washington State....
as Maynard's father - Herbert AndersonHerbert AndersonHerbert Anderson was an American character actor from Oakland, California, probably best remembered for his part as Henry Mitchell in the classic television sitcom Dennis The Menace.-Career:...
as Maynard's and Dobie's High School Teacher
Production
Because Hickman had appeared for several years on the comedy, Love That BobThe Bob Cummings Show
The Bob Cummings Show is an American sitcom starring Robert "Bob" Cummings which was produced from January 2, 1955 to September 15, 1959, and originally sponsored by R.J. Reynolds' Winston cigarettes...
, as Bob Cumming's nephew, Chuck, he was asked to dye his hair blond for the role of Dobie in order to distance himself from that character in the public's mind. By the following year, however, Hickman was permitted to return to his natural brunette hair color.
During the first season, many of the episodes would begin and end with Dobie sitting on a Central City park bench posed à la Auguste Rodin
Auguste Rodin
François-Auguste-René Rodin , known as Auguste Rodin , was a French sculptor. Although Rodin is generally considered the progenitor of modern sculpture, he did not set out to rebel against the past...
's statue, "The Thinker
The Thinker
The Thinker is a bronze and marble sculpture by Auguste Rodin, whose first cast, of 1902, is now in the Musée Rodin in Paris; there are some twenty other original castings as well as various other versions, studies, and posthumous castings. It depicts a man in sober meditation battling with a...
", a reproduction of which stood behind him. Speaking directly to the audience, he would explain to the viewing audience his problem of the week (usually girls or money). The use of the statue was phased out in later episodes.
After filming the third episode, Bob Denver announced that he had received his draft notice
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
and the character of Maynard was given an elaborate sendoff (he enlisted in the Army) in the show's next episode, Maynard's Farewell to the Troops. Stage actor Michael J. Pollard
Michael J. Pollard
- Early life :Born Michael John Pollack, Jr. in Passaic, New Jersey, he is the son of Sonia and Michael John Pollack. He attended the Montclair Academy and the Actors Studio.- Career :...
was brought out from New York to play Maynard's cousin, Jerome Krebs. Before Pollard had completed his first episode, however, Denver returned and announced that he had been designated 4F (unfit for service) because of a neck injury he had sustained some years earlier. Pollard appeared in only one more episode before being bought out of his contract. Pollard later appeared with his fellow Dobie Gillis co-star Warren Beatty
Warren Beatty
Warren Beatty born March 30, 1937) is an American actor, producer, screenwriter and director. He has received a total of fourteen Academy Award nominations, winning one for Best Director in 1982. He has also won four Golden Globe Awards including the Cecil B. DeMille Award.-Early life and...
in Bonnie and Clyde
Bonnie and Clyde
Bonnie Elizabeth Parker and Clyde Chestnut Barrow were well-known outlaws, robbers, and criminals who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression. Their exploits captured the attention of the American public during the "public enemy era" between 1931 and 1934...
, and also appeared in other films, such as The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming
The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming
The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming is an American comedy film. Based on the Nathaniel Benchley novel The Off-Islanders, the film was directed by Norman Jewison and adapted for the screen by William Rose....
and Dirty Mary Crazy Larry.
The actresses that played Dobie's love interests include Cheryl Holdridge
Cheryl Holdridge
Cheryl Holdridge was an American actress, best known as a cast member of the original Mickey Mouse Club.-Early life:Holdridge was born Cheryl Lynn Phelps in New Orleans, Louisiana. Her mother, Julie A...
, Michele Lee
Michele Lee
Michele Lee is an American singer, dancer, actress, producer, director and frequent game show panelist of the 1970s. She is best-known for her role as Karen Cooper Fairgate MacKenzie on the 1980s prime-time soap opera, Knots Landing...
, Susan Watson
Susan Watson
Susan Watson is an American actress and singer best known for her roles in musical theatre.Watson's first professional role was Velma in the original West End production of West Side Story in 1958. She created the role of Luisa in The Fantasticks and then played Kim on Broadway in Bye Bye Birdie,...
, Marlo Thomas
Marlo Thomas
Margaret Julia “Marlo” Thomas is an American actress, producer, and social activist known for her starring role on the TV series That Girl . She also serves as National Outreach Director for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital...
, Sally Kellerman
Sally Kellerman
Sally Clare Kellerman is an American actress and singer known for her role as Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan in the film MASH , for which she was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.-Early life:...
, Ellen Burstyn
Ellen Burstyn
Ellen Burstyn is a leading American actress of film, stage, and television. Burstyn's career began in theatre during the late 1950s, and over the next ten years she appeared in several films and television series before joining the Actors Studio in 1967...
(billed as Ellen McRae), Barbara Babcock
Barbara Babcock
Barbara Babcock is an American character actress. She is perhaps best known for her roles as Grace Gardner on Hill Street Blues for which she won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress—Drama Series in 1981 and her role as Dorothy Jennings on Dr...
, Sherry Jackson
Sherry Jackson
Sherry Jackson is an American actress and former child star. She made her film debut at seven years old in the musical You're My Everything, starring Anne Baxter and Dan Dailey. During the course of appearing in several of the Ma and Pa Kettle movies during the 1950s as Susie Kettle, one of the...
, Diana Millay and Barbara Bain
Barbara Bain
Millicent Fogel , known professionally as Barbara Bain, is an American actress.-Early life:Bain was born in Chicago. She graduated from the University of Illinois with a bachelor's degree in sociology. She moved to New York City, where she was a dancer and high fashion model. Bain studied with...
. Yvonne Craig
Yvonne Craig
Yvonne Joyce Craig is an American actress best known for her role as Batgirl from the 1960s TV series Batman, and as the Orion Marta in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode “Whom Gods Destroy”.-Early life and career:...
appeared in the opening credits and the closing sequence of the pilot film used to sell the series to CBS, but did not appear in the actual episode, "Caper at The Bijou", when it was broadcast. She would eventually play five different girl friends on the show, more than any other actress.
Theme song
The theme song "Dobie" was written by 20th Century-Fox Musical Director Lionel NewmanLionel Newman
Lionel Newman was an American conductor, pianist, and film and television composer. He was the brother of Alfred Newman and Emil Newman, uncle of Randy Newman, David Newman and Thomas Newman, and grandfather of Joey Newman....
, with lyrics by Max Shulman
Max Shulman
Max Shulman was an American writer and humorist best known for his television and short story character Dobie Gillis, as well as for best-selling novels.-Early life and career:...
. The theme was sung by Judd Conlon
Judd Conlon
Judd "Jud" Conlon was born in 1910 in Cuba City, Wisconsin. He later married Clara Manley Conlon and together they had one son, Michael Conlon. For most of his career, Judd was a musical arranger for Walt Disney. Among his credits are the Disney movies Alice in Wonderland , Peter Pan , and Babes...
's Rhythmaires, with music conducted by Lionel Newman.
Other media
After the first season of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis had aired, Capitol RecordsCapitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
attempted to make a recording star out of Dwayne Hickman
Dwayne Hickman
Dwayne Bernard Hickman is a former American actor and television executive at CBS.He is known primarily for his "teenage" actor roles on television sitcoms. The naturally brown-headed Hickman is best known for playing Chuck MacDonald, Bob Collins's crazy teenaged nephew, on the popular 1950s...
, ignoring the fact that he couldn't sing. According to Hickman's autobiography, Forever Dobie: The Many Lives of Dwayne Hickman, the recording engineers had to piece together numerous takes to get a usable track of each song. Hickman introduced several of the songs from the Dobie! album on the show, including "I'm a Lover, Not a Fighter" and "Don't Send a Rabbit."
Earlier, while Hickman was appearing on Love That Bob, he had recorded a single, "School Dance," for ABC-Paramount Records, but both the single and the later Capitol album sold very few copies.
DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
published a Many Loves of Dobie Gillis comic that ran for twenty-six issues in the early 1960s, featuring work by Bob Oksner
Bob Oksner
Bob Oksner was an American comics artist known for both adventure comic strips and for superhero and humor comic books, primarily at DC Comics.-Biography:...
. Stories from this comic would later be revamped as Windy and Willy.
Sequel films
The program spawned two sequels, the pilotTelevision pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
Whatever Happened to Dobie Gillis (1978) and TV movie Bring Me the Head of Dobie Gillis (1988). In these, Dobie had married Zelda and had a son named Georgie, who was like Dobie had been at his age. The latter of these took its title from the Sam Peckinpah
Sam Peckinpah
David Samuel "Sam" Peckinpah was an American filmmaker and screenwriter who achieved prominence following the release of the Western epic The Wild Bunch...
film, Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia is a 1974 American action film directed by Sam Peckinpah and featuring Warren Oates....
, and its plot from the play The Visit
The Visit
The Visit is a 1956 tragicomic play by Swiss dramatist Friedrich Dürrenmatt.-Plot summary:...
, by Friedrich Dürrenmatt
Friedrich Dürrenmatt
Friedrich Dürrenmatt was a Swiss author and dramatist. He was a proponent of epic theatre whose plays reflected the recent experiences of World War II. The politically active author's work included avant-garde dramas, philosophically deep crime novels, and often macabre satire...
.
Pop culture influences
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis was a major influence on the characters for another successful CBS program, the Saturday morning cartoon Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!Scooby-Doo, Where are You!
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! is the first incarnation of the long-running Hanna-Barbera Saturday morning cartoon Scooby-Doo. It premiered on September 13, 1969 at 10:30 a.m. EST and ran for two seasons on CBS as a half-hour long show. Twenty-five episodes were produced...
Scooby writer Mark Evanier
Mark Evanier
Mark Stephen Evanier is an American comic book and television writer, particularly known for his humor work. He is also known for his columns and blogs, and for his work as a historian and biographer of the comics industry, in particular his award-winning Jack Kirby biography, Kirby: King of...
noted that "Fred was based on Dobie, Shaggy on Maynard, Velma on Zelda and Daphne on Thalia." http://halogen.note.amherst.edu/~bgjohnson/wwwfaq.html#trivia.scooby